Approximately 850 million people worldwide are malnourished. About a billion people have no access to safe drinking water. Forty million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, 95% of whom live in developing countries. More than a billion people worldwide are living on less than a dollar a day. One in six people are illiterate.

 

Candia Ludy has extensive experience in coordinating and managing projects. She has lived and worked in East and West Africa, the former Soviet Union plus many states in America. In the fall of 1999 Candia, along with a small group of interested humanitarians, founded foodaid.com. Formally the President of Foodaid.com, she is now Secretary of the Board of Directors. She is available as a consultant and works closely with each project's manager.

She has worked as the informal community liaison officer in Yerevan, Armenia and assistant coordinator of classes for the International Women's Club in Moscow, Russia. During that time she edited outgoing paperwork for a contract job through the US Department of Agriculture. Candia was an editor/assistant writer for Support Services International, Washington D.C. and assisted in the writing, and edited, Commodity Logistics Manuals for Catholic Relief Services, Feed the Children and World Vision.

For 18 years Candia coordinated meditation programs in Vermont and Colorado for Shambhala International.Presently she is the Shambhala secretary of Khenpo Gawang Rinpoche and Director of Pema Karpo Meditation Center located in Memphis, TN. She has been a production manager for film and video, mainly in the New York City area; a guide and tour leader to the game parks of Kenya, a faculty advisor for Friend's World College students based in Kenya, and a fourth grade teacher at the International Community School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Candia holds a Master of Fine Art (1998) from Memphis College of Art in Computer Arts. Her studies included multi-media, 3-D animation, website and computer aided design. She has a Bachelor's degree in special and elementary education from the University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR.

She is the webmaster of this site and of other websites for non-profits and individuals. Please contact her for more information on web development and the uses of the web to create and maintain communities and keep people informed.

Ly Nguyen is the project manager for Vietnam. She makes multiple trips each year finding new projects, checking on existing projects, and making sure each and every gift from a donor is given with care and love. Look for her in the project pictures as she has been to every one we support She is an American citizen born in Vietnam. She and her husband began many years ago to fund small projects when they would return to Vietnam to visit family.

In 2000, they were part of a group who invited Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh and other peacemakers to Memphis for PeaceWalk 2002. Out of that collaboration came the idea for us to work together on these projects and begin to develop even more.

Ly also works with the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association, San Diego, CA Chapter and Green Heart. Many of the good projects in Vietnam have been accomplished through the generosity of members of VCSA and Green Heart.

When ever possible Ly likes to personally help with the projects.... giving cash but also giving time, effort and attention. Through Ly, and others who accompany her on these trips, your gifts to the people of Vietnam are not faceless checks but warm gestures of assistance from real people Donors are welcome to come during her trips to Vietnam and visit projects they sponsor.

Denise Cox is our information researcher and stuff finder. She is a native of the Memphis, TN area and is a Senior Psychological Examiner with over twenty years of experience. Based at the Pilgrim Center, another Partner In Mission of First Congregational Church, Denise evaluates learning related disorders and provides psychotherapy and extensive interventions for all ages and academic levels. She works with relationship, parenting and life adjustment issues. Her practice is grounded in the work of C.G. Jung.

The founding principals of Foodaid.com, Candia Ludy and Lawrence Barbieri, started in the mid 1970's working with large supplementary food programs which were part of maternal child health projects. Both Candia and Lawrence have extensive experience with food aid, emergency and development programs.

These programs have ranged from emergency and direct distribution assistance in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Mozambique, to transitional programs in Armenia, Ethiopia, and Georgia and development programs in Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Bangladesh. Lawrence assisted in the development and implementation of foodaid programs for Winrock International, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, Africare, Technoserve, and Save the Children Federation. As a private consultant, he advised USAID missions, Food for Peace, USDA and Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) on commodity and monetization programs, including assessing program potential, conducting market assessments, and training staff on procedures for commodity sales and distribution.

Lawrence authored commodity management manuals for three Title II cooperating sponsors, and co-authored USAID's commodity reference manuals: the Reference Guide for Food Aid Managers and the Food Aid Management Plan for USAID Missions. Candia was responsible for the editing and reviewing of these manuals and publications.

In cooperation with others, they helped found Foodaid.com in September 1999. From January 2000 until May 2003, Lawrence joined the staff full time to help develop a strong base for the new non-profit. The United States Department of Agriculture hired Lawrence as a Development Resources Specialist for the Foreign Agricultural Service in 2003. Foodaid.compassion could not have started without his assistance and we thank him for his help and wish him well.